After the Equifax breach, here's how to freeze your credit to protect your identity

[Nelson Vergel]

Consumers affected by the Equifax data breach are scrambling for ways to protect their financial lives. Some are considering Equifax's own credit monitoring service. Others suggest freezing your credit as a better option to such services. But what does freezing your credit entail, and how easy is it to do (and undo)?

In basic terms, freezing your credit means placing restrictions on who can view your credit report. Why is this important? Well, applying for housing, checking accounts or new credit cards can all involve a credit pull by potential landlords, mortgage lenders or banks. If you prevent them from pulling your credit, it'll frustrate the fraudsters who need these organizations' approval to open fake accounts using your stolen identity.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-how-to-freeze-your-credit-equifax-20170911-story.html


Check if you were affected: Here

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Credit Freeze Guide: The best way to protect yourself against identity theft

 

[Neil]

Thank you Nelson

 

[Re-Ride]

Thanks Nelson. Initially I logged in to my EQ ac as I am already a member. I then tried adding a monitoring product but could not get it for free. Using your link I requested the trusted IDpremier and applied for that. After a few hours I got an enrollment email. I clicked on the link and was asked to answer security questions about my mortgage and car loan of which I have neither. It locked me out and told me to call. Calling was a waste of time.

Later I clicked on the email link again . This time it allowed me in. They say they are showing you your "credit report" but it is just a summary. We need the actual report which has a report number in order to file a dispute.

I recommend pp file their disputes in writing giving only the minimum information such as "not my debt" or "disputed because I cancelled my phone service with TMO on 01/01/1999 but they continued to bill me even though I was not under contract" Never dispute by phone. There are many sites dedicated with helping one clear derogs from credit reports . Be sure to visit one prior to initiating any dispute.

The free TrustedID Premier is a good service, valid for one year, for monitoring illicit use of your identity to obtain credit but it is not a substitute for getting your complete credit report, identified with a CR number, from each of the big three. One can get these free if denied a job, housing or other reason and often they will contain your credit score with an explanation of how it was calculated and how you can improve it. Sometimes the phone agents will send out the full report if you request it and have a valid reason for asking for it. You should not have to pay a monthly fee for a "credit monitoring service". If you accidentally subscribe to such a service or summary report while trying to buy your actual credit report then cancel the service and call your CC carrier to dispute the charge. The big three do not make it easy to buy a real credit report because they'd rather sell you a monitoring subscription.

 

[xml]

Too bad they got all the info needed to unlock any of the freezes.